One view in the study of intergroup conflict is that pride implies prejudice.
However, an increasing number of scholars have come to view in-group pride more
benignly, suggesting that pride can be accompanied by a full ...

The presidential-parliamentary distinction is foundational to comparative politics and at the center of
a large theoretical and empirical literature. However, an examination of constitutional texts suggests a
fair degree ...

We investigate whether political institutions can promote attachment to the state in multiethnic
societies. Building on literatures on nationalism, democratization, and conﬂict resolution, we discuss the importance of ...

This article is about how political regimes should generally be classified, and how
Latin American regimes should be classified for the 1945-99 period. We make five
general claims about regime classification. First, ...

Over the past forty-five years, bilateral investment treaties (BITs) have
become the most important international legal mechanism for the encouragement and
governance of foreign direct investment. The proliferation of ...

This article begins with a rather forceful defense of the explanatory role
of formal institutions—and, in particular, constitutions—in the study of
democratization. Important aspects of constitutions play a significant ...

This article develops and tests a specific model of the role of diffusion as a
determinant of the magnitude and direction of regime change, using a database
covering the world from 1972 to 1996. The authors find that ...

Ginsburg, Tom; Elkins, Zachary; Blount, Justin(Annual Review of Law and Social Science, 2009-07-29)

Constitution-making is a ubiquitous but poorly understood phenomenon.
There is much speculation but relatively little evidence about
the impact of different design processes on constitutional outcomes.
Much of the debate ...

One of the most important developments over the past three decades has been the spread of liberal
economic ideas and policies throughout the world. These policies have affected the lives of millions
of people, yet our ...

Elkins, Zachary(American Journal of Political ScienceMidwest Political Science Association, 2000-04)

A group of influential scholars has argued emphatically that democracy should be measured dichotomously. This position challenges--on both theoretical and methodological grounds--the widespread practice of measuring democracy ...

A group of influential scholars has argued emphatically that democracy should be measured dichotomously. This position challenges-on both theoretical and methodological grounds-the widespread practice of measuring democracy ...

This article elaborates and tests a theory connecting the high levels of inequality in many
Latin American states to the failure to develop mechanisms to effectively protect and
enforce formal rights enshrined in ...

How effective are courts as policymaking institutions?
Generally speaking, courts play a far larger role
in American biodiversity law than they do in comparable
Australian and Canadian statutory programs. As
a result, ...

An implicit element of many theories of constitutional enforcement is the degree to which those subject
to constitutional law can agree on what its provisions mean (call this constitutional interpretability).
Unfortunately, ...